A 21-year-old man has suffered serious stab wounds in another knife crime in north Essex.

The victim of the latest knife attack was walking with friends along Edith Road, Clacton, in the early hours of Sunday morning, March 10, before being attacked by seven people who approached him in two cars.

Officers from Essex Police were called to the scene near to the West Cliff Theatre at around 1am to find a 21-year-old man being treated for stab wounds.

Officers believe the attack may have been linked to an incident earlier that night near to the Moon and Starfish pub, in which a number of men were involved in an altercation.

Detective Sergeant Daniel Jeffries, of Clacton CID, said: “This was an extremely serious incident during which a young man was stabbed.

“Essex Police will not tolerate those who think it is acceptable to use weapons and commit violent crime.”

There has been a spate of knife incidents in north Essex this year.

A man was threatened with a knife in the Pier Avenue area on Friday, February 22.

On February 25, a man was stabbed at Clacton railway station. A 17-year-old boy has been charged.

And on the same day a teenager was stabbed in West Avenue, though left the scene before police arrived.

Anti-knife campaigner Caroline Shearer of Only Cowards Carry, whose son Jay Whiston was murdered in 2012, said last month: “It has got to the stage where people are scared on our streets.

“These people are now carrying knives and getting into fights in day light in areas where kids are playing and elderly people are.

“There needs to be a harsher sentence for people who carry knives because at the moment it is too lenient. There needs to be a proper punishment so that people stop carrying knives.

“It is up to the law makers to stop this from happening. It’s not anti-social behaviour any more it is serious criminal behaviour.”

Following two stabbings in Colchester in February, the force pledged to increase patrols.

Detective Superintendent Leighton Hammett said: “Tackling knife crime is a priority both in Essex and nationally. Sadly up and down the country, police forces and communities are seeing the tragic consequences of this offence.”